Does Montana Count As "PNW"?

I'm fine one way or the other.
Never personally considered Montana part of the PNW.
But you Washingtonians love Montana . I put up with you, you put up with me. :)
 
Breck said:
Hi folks,

Many of you may remember me from the WFF site. I moved to WA from UT, where I was born & raised back in 2000. I loved WA and its rich bounty of outdoor recreation. In recent years, I saw the state devolve in many ways and realized that it really wasn't the place for me anymore. I took a 2-week vacation to Montana in the Summer of 2020 and fell in love with the place. Immediately upon returning to WA, I made arrangements and settled business and affairs and moved to NW (Kalispell area)/Flathead Valley) MT in September, 2020. It's had its ups & downs for sure. The 5-month-long hard Winters are a bit of a challenge to get accustomed to, for instance. It's really nice living 30 minutes from West Glacier. Glacier National Park is really something to behold.

I also really miss steelhead & salmon fishing, and miss the salt water in general. The trout fishing here is exceptional, as well as warm water species fishing (when it's actually warm). I have supplemented my addiction to fighting bigger fish with learning how to fish for pike on the fly. The pike fishing around here is out of this world. We also have a Canadian strain of rainbow trout called "Kamloops" in a few of the lakes here that grow to mammoth sizes (I'm talking 20-30 lbs commonly) as a result of feasting on kokanee smolts. They eagerly hit big flies (Sex Dungeons, for example) trolled just under the surface on sinking fly lines. They are also pretty abundant below the Lake Koocanusa Libby Dam on the Kootenai River where Spey swingers pick them up on swung flies. Definitely not lacking in great fishing opportunities around here. Im also an avid hunter and there is no shortage of excellent hunting here as well.

Long story short, I guess I'd like to offer myself as a resource to anyone wanting to visit MT for a fishing/hunting/vacation trip. I'm happy to offer any info as far as weather, fishing reports, lodging, guide recommendations, etc.. Don't be afraid to ask.

Kind regards and tight lines,

-Breck
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Didn't I used to see you at Pass a lot? White/blue trim drift boat?

Either way I remember ya...welcome back!
 
Tim Lockhart said:
Didn't I used to see you at Pass a lot? White/blue trim drift boat?

Either way I remember ya...welcome back!
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Aye. Twas I. Tons of great stillwater trout (and grayling) fishing minutes from my front door. Paradise.
 
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Depends on who you talk to. At work and my non profits part of Idaho into Montana is considered the Rocky Mountain Region. In school the Pacific NW was only states on the Pacific above a certain parallel. Usually Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. Sometimes they would include Idaho into the PNW.

So, I've rarely got a set states that are in the PNW.
 
Breck said:
ishing/hunting/vacation trip. I'm happy to offer any info as far as weather, fishing reports, lodging, guide recommendations, etc.. Don't be afraid to ask.
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Back in 62 a buddy of mine got a job in Coram and I spent a few days up there fishing and drinking and more drinking and one night tried to get into a cute little pink whorehouse on a hill in Martin City. The owner/madam said I had had too much to drink and refused to let me in but was very nice about it. I believe this was known as sugar hill and a fun little piece of Montana history. And its definitely in the PNW.
 
bobduck said:
Back in 62 a buddy of mine got a job in Coram and I spent a few days up there fishing and drinking and more drinking and one night tried to get into a cute little pink whorehouse on a hill in Martin City. The owner/madam said I had had too much to drink and refused to let me in but was very nice about it. I believe this was known as sugar hill and a fun little piece of Montana history. And its definitely in the PNW.
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Haha! Great story….I wonder if it’s still there….?
 
For many years now I’ve been going to Montana every year from my home in PA. Occassionally, I go as far as WA or even into BC. Like all Easterners, we simply say we are ”going out west”, and when we return we are “going back east”.

I have no idea where the reference to “out” and ”back” came from, and I have no idea where the west, or the east, begins when you head in those 2 directions from where you begin. (I always feel like I’m finally in the west when I get to South Dakota, but maybe it’s just that the traffic let’s up when I finally get on Interstate 90 at Sioux Falls.)

So, what do you guys from Washington say when you are going to Montana? Are you going back east? How far East do you have to go before you are “back east”? (Or maybe you don’t say “back” at all.)

p.s. My wife and I stayed on the Yellowstone River in Paradise valley for many years, which runs south to north. She could never understand when I said I’m going up the valley, because in her mind i should have said I’m going down the valley, since the direction I was going was south! (just another reason why it’s sometimes hard to communicate with my wife.)
 
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MT_Flyfisher said:
For many years now I’ve been going to Montana every year from my home in PA. Occassionally, I go as far as WA or even into BC. Like all Easterners, we simply say we are ”going out west”, and when we return we are “going back east”.
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We all have our own perspective. I grew up in small towns in eastern OR and eastern WA. My dad worked for the USFS and was transferred to the front slope of Colorado at the end of my senior year in high school. I told them there was no way I was moving back east with them.
 
Well...since Eastern WA seems to start at about Cle Elum for many I guess I remain a bit confused.:unsure::ROFLMAO:
 
MT_Flyfisher said:
For many years now I’ve been going to Montana every year from my home in PA. Occassionally, I go as far as WA or even into BC. Like all Easterners, we simply say we are ”going out west”, and when we return we are “going back east”.

I have no idea where the reference to “out” and ”back” came from, and I have no idea where the west, or the east, begins when you head in those 2 directions from where you begin. (I always feel like I’m finally in the west when I get to South Dakota, but maybe it’s just that the traffic let’s up when I finally get on Interstate 90 at Sioux Falls.)

So, what do you guys from Washington say when you are going to Montana? Are you going back east? How far East do you have to go before you are “back east”? (Or maybe you don’t say “back” at all.)

p.s. My wife and I stayed on the Yellowstone River in Paradise valley for many years, which runs south to north. She could never understand when I said I’m going up the valley, because in her mind i should have said I’m going down the valley, since the direction I was going was south! (just another reason why it’s sometimes hard to communicate with my wife.)
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Just say I'm going to Montana. See, that wasn't very hard.(y)(y)
 
Sure, why not, The Arizona schools are PAC 12. Montana makes more sense to me. I've been to the western part and it seemed like it belonged.
 
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